Kepler Communications has received a C$4.7 million Canadian defense contract to develop and test optical intersatellite communications over two years. Announced on October 21, 2026, the work concerns laser links that let satellites exchange data directly, with Arctic and remote-region communications among the intended applications.
The award comes through the Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security program. National Defence connects the project to future Canadian Armed Forces operations and the NORTHWATCH surveillance and threat-detection program.
An optical relay network moves information between spacecraft using light. A satellite collecting observations can pass data to another spacecraft, which forwards it through the network toward a suitable connection to Earth. This gives the originating spacecraft a route beyond its own direct ground-station contacts.
Kepler’s published network design describes an Internet Protocol mesh architecture that routes data among satellites. Each spacecraft in its first optical tranche was designed with at least four optical terminals. Multiple terminals allow a spacecraft to maintain several connections, supporting the network’s relay function. Compatibility with the U.S. Space Development Agency’s optical standards is part of the design.
The contract builds on an existing commercial development program. Kepler announced in August that its first optical tranche had completed commissioning and was serving customers following its January launch. Those statements describe the company’s network status; the new defense award funds a separate period of development and testing.
New Space Economy’s company profile traces Kepler’s earlier work on small radio-frequency communications satellites before its move into optical relay infrastructure. The new contract applies that optical-networking work to a defined Canadian defense requirement.
Kepler also combines communications with onboard processing. Its August description explains that customers can process and distribute mission information within the constellation before sending it to Earth. For the defense project, the immediate deliverable is the development and testing of satellite-to-satellite laser communications that can support faster access to mission data.
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